Delhi Vs Punjab - Kolkata Vs Pune - Must Win for Punjab

DD vs KXIP Live Streaming - KKR vs PWI Live Streaming


What could you have expected more than this? An IPL edition which is hardly couple of days away from the play-offs still hasn't concluded which four teams would feature in the play-offs. That is the most interesting part this year. And hence we call it "the most open IPL we have ever seen!".


Delhi and Kolkata are already through to the next stage. Chennai has finished all its games but they are still in contention. If Bangalore and Punjab lose their matches then Chennai is through to the next level. Yesterday's match which resulted in Rajasthan's loss has almost ensured that Mumbai is through to the play-offs with very thin probability that they can be knocked out from here on.


1st Match - Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab 


Kings XI Punjab were no where in contention till the first half of the round robin stage. They have drastically improved their performance in the second half of this league. They comprehensively defeated the defending champions Chennai in the last match or else Chennai was through to the next stage. Last match also marked the return of Gilchrist in style. He scored majority of the runs for his team to win against Chennai.


Punjab has come up this time with unlikely stars viz. Awana, Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Singh. Shaun Marsh and David Hussey have equally provided good knocks. As far as bowling department is concerned Awana, Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris and Piyush Chawla can cause trouble to the strong batting line up of Delhi. 


Delhi Daredevils suffered a big loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last match. In the absence of Virender Sehwag and Morne Morkel, the team looked dull. Bangalore especially Chris Gayle hammered the bowling line up. Delhi may bounce back to register a win here against Punjab and keep the hopes of Chennai alive.


2nd Match - Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India


Although Pune Warriors are already eliminated and Kolkata Knight Riders are already through to the play-offs, this match still holds a big importance. Simply because this match features Sourav Ganguly. This could be probably his last match in IPL and he would be fortunate enough to play his last one against his home team. 


Pune Warriors have lost 8 matches on the trot and they are lingering somewhere at the bottom of the table with Deccan Chargers. With nothing to gain from this match, they would play for pride. A win over Kolkata Knight Riders will be a consolation for them before they end this year's IPL journey. 


Meanwhile the player to watch out today would certainly be Sunil Narine. His balls are mysterious and unplayable at times. The way he bowled Sachin Tendulkar was absolutely a delight to watch. He too 4 wickets giving away just 15 runs. On the other hand Kolkata has a strong batting line up consisting of Gautam Gambhir, McCullum and Kallis. The only worry for the batting line up is its over dependancy on Gautam Gambhir's performance.



No comments:

Post a Comment